Meals and Tickets

Abramoff and Associates Dined with White House Officials 186 Times

If the documents provided to the committee are accurate, Mr. Abramoff and his associates dined or had drinks with White House officials 186 times during the period of this investigation, spending more than $24,000 on meals with White House officials. Federal law prohibits White House officials from accepting meals and gifts worth more than $20 from lobbyists. In most cases, the documents do not indicate whether the White House officials paid for their own meals.

Restaurants they frequented were among the most expensive in Washington, including Mr. Abramoff’s restaurant Signatures (25 times), Bistro Bis (18), the Oval Room (14), Bobby Van’s Steakhouse (8), and Morton’s of Chicago (6).

Tickets to Sporting Events

According to the documents, the Abramoff team offered White House officials tickets to 19 sporting events and concerts, including floor seats at Wizards basketball games, ice-level seats at Capitals games, box seats at Orioles games, and tickets for U2 and Bruce Springsteen concerts. The value of some of the tickets offered to White House officials exceeded $1,000.

There is evidence in the documents that White House officials received free tickets to sporting events. Susan Ralston, who served as Karl Rove's executive assistant at the White House, e-mailed Mr. Abramoff to thank him for tickets to the Baltimore Orioles. "Thanks for the tix to the game last night," Ms. Ralston wrote. "Our guests had a terrific time... [W]e had fun and appreciate your generosity." Mr. Abramoff also offered to donate a suite at a hockey game to Karl Rove's class of College Republicans.